Sometimes a person’s passions are not recognized by everyone. But when you are a young person, it is often more likely that is the case. And it really becomes difficult when one of the people who fail to understand is one of the people whose opinion matters the most. Such is the case in the new heartfelt story coming from Oni Press, Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song.
This graphic novel, by talented creator’s writer Austin Paramore and artist Sarah Bollinger tells the story of Malcolm Kid. A young man whose passion is music, much to the chagrin of his father. It turns out that Malcolm’s father had grown up bitter. Centered around HIS musician father, the Jazz great Lawrence Kid (A.K.A. The Midnight Kid). As far as he was concerned, his father put his music above his family. He didn’t want Malcolm to make that same mistake in his life. It was after coming across a special keyboard that eventually served as the bridge between Malcolm and his grandfather. While at the same time bringing healing to not only Malcolm and his dad but also between his father and his dad.
A Chat with the Creators of ‘Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song’
The narrative is told with heart by writer Austin Paramore and is whimsically brought to life by artist Sarah Bollinger. With Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song now available, we recently sat down with the creative team to discuss their individual creative beginnings, their collaboration on this new book, and how it all came together. So, let’s welcome the creative team of Austin Paramore and Sarah Bollinger to GVN’s Talking Comics. Being a gentleman, let’s start with Sarah:
Sarah Bollinger
GVN: Thank you for sharing some of your time with us Sarah.
Sarah: I’m happy to be here.
Beginnings
GVN: Since this is our first chance to converse, let’s start with a bit of your artistic background. When did you first take an interest in art and whose work did you admire and inspired you to pursue that passion?
Sarah: I’ve been interested in art for as long as I can remember, literally. One of my earliest memories is of being very small and studying the pictures and colors on my bottle (monkeys and banana trees in yellow, orange, and green), and that interest just stayed with me. I can’t say what artists specifically inspired me to pursue art as a career, but I can credit the animated shows, video games, and comics of my childhood. As soon as I discovered that these things I adored were made by people and didn’t just exist, I knew I wanted to be one of those people.
Traditional and Digital
GVN: When it comes to your art, do you work traditionally or digitally and what are the advantages for you of whichever technique you use?
Sarah: When it comes to comics, I always do my layouts traditionally. I like to print out scripts and draw thumbnails right on the pages with a pen. It helps me quickly compare a lot of compositional options and play with how I want to piece together a page. Seeing all the unedited ideas in one place helps me think. Once I have pages figured out, I scan them in and work digitally from there. I like the flexibility of working digitally when it comes to wrapping up a comic. It’s especially helpful as a parent because I can’t always be at my desk, and when I have a deadline, it helps to be able to move seamlessly between my computer and portable devices.
The Choice for Self-Publishing
GVN: You started out self-publishing your own work with your fantasy comic, Knight & Beard, and the Webtoon featured slice-of-life series, Girls Have a Blog. What made you decide to go the self-publishing route and what did you learn during that time? Besides the fact that you had the courage and the talent to put yourself out there like that.
Sarah: Knight & Beard and Girls Have a Blog were comics I made with my friend and fellow creator, Thorn Kurtzhals. The truth is, I don’t think I would’ve had the courage to make and post comics without Thorn. I loved comics but knew nothing about making them, and those early ones were VERY rough. If it were just me, I would’ve been too embarrassed to share them! But doing it with a friend made it fun, so I kept making them. Since I kept making them, I made a point to improve. When it came to self-publishing, I think the decision came down to really wanting our works to exist in a physical form, and fortunately, our collection of webcomics helped build a community that believed in and backed us. I guess the big thing I learned from all of it is to just try. I might look back at that first year or two of comics and cringe a little, but it’s because of those that I now have this very cool career.
The Possibility of Animation
GVN: As I looked over your work, I love the whimsical nature of it and the animated style it vibrates. Did you ever consider going into animation?
Sarah: Actually, yes! I went to school for animation and for a few years, really wanted to do concept art for animated features. I started doing comics while still in school though, and by the time I graduated, I’d fallen head-over-heels in love with making them. It was an unexpected change of career, but I can’t imagine doing anything else now.
Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song
GVN: You have partnered with talented writer Austin Paramore for your graphic novel Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song. A beautiful story that reflects several different story elements that pluck at the heart strings. How did you get connected with Austin and how did he pitch the story to you?
Sarah: Austin found me through “Girls Have a Blog!” He sent me an email when Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song was in its infancy, and he asked me to help him put the pitch together. I couldn’t really take on another project at the time, but somewhere down the line, the story was picked up by Oni Press and Austin remembered me as an artist he wanted to work with. I’m so grateful he thought to reach back out. I love this story and its characters, and I’m so proud of the work we did.
Relatable Moments
GVN: As I read the book, many of the situations are relatable. For example, my father never really saw my drawing as anything more than a hobby. Not anything to make a living from. Of course, that was the way HE was raised. Did any of the elements of the story touch you in a personal way or inspire your work as you progressed?
Sarah: Absolutely. I found every relationship in this book relatable, but weirdly, maybe sadly, I connected the most to Midnight and his relationship with his craft. Chapter 3 was kind of my Ghost of Christmas Future, and I will admit to pouring my own regrets into the making of it. It was cathartic for me. A little difficult to do but hopefully, it helped make the book more enriching.
More for Malcolm?
GVN: Thanks again Sarah for your kind attention. Before I let you go, I questioned Austin about the ending and the possibility of more for this story. Is that something you would be in favor of and perhaps discussed?
Sarah: It hasn’t been discussed too thoroughly, but Austin and I did talk about the potential of there being more to explore in New Bronzeville. I have no idea how those ideas will manifest just yet, but I’m here for it! And thank YOU. It’s been an honor.
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Austin Paramore
And now, let’s visit with talented writer Austin Paramore:
Beginnings
GVN: Thank you so much for visiting with us Austin. We really appreciate it. Since this will be our first opportunity to talk, let’s start with a bit of your background. When did you first think that writing was in your future and whose work inspired you upon that path?
Austin: I’ve always been comfortable writing, but it wasn’t until early college that I realized I had a passion for it. I really took to writing poetry with my spoken word group, and that opened the door to me exploring screenwriting, songwriting, etc. So, I’d say that spoken word group was the first time I saw writing as something I’d do for life, whether paid or not. Being able to collaborate and brainstorm with my best friends was incredible and seeing their collections of poetry come to fruition as tangible, impressive chapbooks convinced me that maybe I could do something like that as well. So, I started working on a chapbook of my own, and seeing the finished product kind of blew my mind… suddenly all of my ideas felt possible. And I’ve been focused on my creative journey ever since.
Vandy Spoken Word
GVN: Eventually, you found your way to Vanderbilt University, with a degree in Human & Organizational Development. How did your developing writing skills get honed while you pursued your degree and was there a specific type of writing that you were focusing on during your time at VU? You obviously kept your options open. With a career, that includes copywriting, poetry, and for our purposes today, a new graphic novel.
Austin: As I mentioned, Vandy Spoken Word opened the door to my love of creative writing. By the end of college, I was writing poems, screenplays, rap songs, love songs, jazz songs, just going with whatever idea popped into my head. But concurrently, that HOD major required a tonnnn of academic writing. Lots of research papers, case studies, lit reviews, you name it. I honestly did enjoy that kind of writing though (I miss having the outlet for those types of ideas) and feel like those years made me a versatile, thorough writer. Definitely helped me develop an eye for detail… those professors were tough!
Looking back, the fact that I didn’t get tired of all that writing was a pretty clear sign that I was born to write stuffs.
Behind the Story of Malcolm
GVN: I had mentioned your graphic novel, so let’s talk about Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song which is coming from Oni Press and includes art by Sarah Bollinger. Tell us a bit of the story behind the book and what you based the story on?
Austin: In high school, I studied jazz at a music conservatory in Chicago. After school and eight hours every Saturday – playing music, learning history, and studying theory. My interest in the world of jazz definitely stems from there. Not even just the music, I loved learning about the personal stories of the famous musicians… those greats all led such remarkable lives. So, although the book began as the story of a young musician trying to figure out what to do with a newfound passion, those famous musician stories found their way into the mix pretty naturally and helped flesh out the narrative.
Bringing the Story Elements Together
GVN: Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song touches on several different issues and gives each of them relatable moments and ones that tug at the heart. From being a victim of bullying, to following your dream, to the importance of friendship and the relationship between father and son. While also mixing in some supernatural elements. How many of these story points were included from the start and which ones developed as you wrote?
Austin: I feel like I have such an odd process, but most of those story points were developed as I wrote. It really started out as the story of a kid trying to find himself, which turned into a kid following a dream. But outside of that, it mostly developed as I went. I tend to live with my ideas for quite a while, years. I think about them pretty much every day and randomly something will inspire two thoughts to connect and form a meaningful addition to the story. From there, it’s just a matter of connecting dots and filtering what works and what doesn’t. It’s not the most academic process, but it’s working for me so far!
Working with Sarah
GVN: As I mentioned earlier, you collaborated with talented Illustrator Sarah Bollinger on your book. How did that partnership come about and how much discussion did you have with Sarah as you progressed? Was there constant communication or did you give her the script and turn her loose?
Austin: Very much the latter. I essentially shared the script with her and let her work her magic.
The partnership began with me being a fan of “Girls Have a Blog.” That was my introduction to Sarah’s work, and I just so happened to be working on the pitch for Malcolm Kid at the time. I reached out to her for help with the pitch, and it didn’t work out then, but she was super kind and obviously super talented. So, I kept the name in mind when it came time to find an artist for the book, and she agreed to join the team!
From there it was a lot of tag in, tag out. I’d give her a chapter of the script, she’d come back with art, I’d be like “whoa” and inspired to build on her art, then she’d build, and eventually we had a whole book! If it wasn’t already obvious from this response, our editor played a HUGE part in getting this book done.
Pitching the Book to Oni Press
GVN: Indeed! For the record Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song was edited by the team of Robin Herrera, Sarah Gaydos, and Grace Scheipeter. Just so we get your appreciation in for them. Your book is being published by the good folks at Oni Press. Did you pitch your book to them, or did they approach you about working with them?
Austin: I pitched the book! I had never done anything like that before but learned a lot by researching “graphic novel pitches” online. Looking back… I’m a little embarrassed by the scope of what I originally pitched. Way off. But kudos to the Oni folks, they believed in the story and being able to help me craft it.
More to Malcolm’s Journey
GVN: The internet can be a great tool for learning anything. Including, apparently, pitching a new graphic novel. Kudo’s for having the courage to do that. It certainly worked out for you. I do want to thank you once again for your time, Austin. Before I let you go and without spoiling anything, you left the ending open for the possibility of more. If your book is as well-received as I believe it will be, do you have more of the story to tell?
Austin: Thank you! And thanks for the kind words. There is certainly more story to tell. Malcolm’s journey is only beginning.
Oni Press Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song by Austin Paramore and Sarah Bollinger is available now where great books are sold. Be sure to check this delightful story out.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.